Latest 7 magazine

Bent Double is a much taken-for-granted monthly alternative comedy night. It’s hosted by Brighton resident and Mock The Week semi-regular Zoe Lyons – who was also nominated for the Edinburgh Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, as well as garnering the wrath of Germaine Greer.

And it’s very gay-friendly, which means, from that starting point, very ‘alternative’-friendly. This makes it a good home for the likes of the My Little PonyTM-tattooed Wil Hodgson, as well as Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow guest Kerry Godliman.

Offering a home to club sets wishing to get away from the stags’n’hens weekend mainstream clubs, it shouldn’t be overlooked just because it is always there.

This time we personally can’t wait to see Wil Hodgson again, having seen him in Edinburgh two years ago. His gentle delivery and lilting accent contrasts wildly with his substantial tatooed form and pink dyed hair. Declaring a love of lesbians, Roland Rat and punk, his storytelling and leftfield gags are an indulgent delight, like aural chocolate. The good stuff.

Also on the bill is Kerry Godliman, a popular act encapsulating the virtues of the ‘everywoman’, extoling the funny in marriage, motherhood and the mundane. Joining her is Mary Bourke, with a soft Irish accent delivering a fair amount of filth.

Zoe Lyons has built up this gem of a club ethos herself, mixing up comedic styles but keeping the quality high. It provides a place to see the really rather good and out
of the ordinary, without the need to invest in an entire hour-long show of something new.
Bent Double, Sunday 5 September, 7.30pm, £10/8.

Last year I pootled along to the Brighton Comedy Festival and saw a lovely Liverpudlian chap do his set in the Pavilion Theatre on New Road. That chap’s got rather more bums on seats this year. He’s playing the Brighton Centre. His name was John Bishop. Yup, that fella off of weekend telly.

Although this year’s Brighton Comedy Festival isn’t until October, now is definitely the time to start booking tickets. We’ve all heard of the Jimmy Carrs and the Frankie Boyles that fill out the Dome Concert Hall come the autumn, but there are cracking comics playing the smaller sites too. Kevin Bridges – of C4’s Stand Up For The Week and the BBC’s Michael McIntyre Roadshow – is playing the Corn Exchange on 12 October. Baggsy seeing that engagingly thoughtful, Glaswegian early-twenty-something!
Read the rest of this article »

Local talent is one of the things Brighton is most proud of. Which means that every comedy club has to meet a certain standard. There are too many other quality nights around for a below average show to survive. The Prince Arthur Comedy Night, the third of our local new act picks this month, is certainly no flash in the pan. It’s run by Richard Sawyer and Aidan Goatley, who gives us the lowdown…

Why should we go to Prince Arthur Comedy?
Because it’s the loveliest venue and has a very laid back approach. Lots of new acts mixing with the not so new.
Read the rest of this article »

In the second of our series on local new act oasis we have a chat with Jim Holland,who, with Kerry Herbert, runs the monthly local fundraiser Charity Chuckle. With a headliner accompanying booked new acts raising money for local charities, it’s an opportunity to catch hand-picked comics with promise brushing shoulders with a proven circuit regular. Jim has a word with us.

Why a charity night?
Nobody else was doing it! We wanted to give stage time to newer comics and at the same time help raise much-needed funds for local charities.
Read the rest of this article »